P'burg And Kids May Not Be A Showdown At All

The first of three major showdowns among the East Penn Conference's wrestling elite is scheduled for tonight.

Unfortunately, it may not be a showdown at all.

Phillipsburg (3-0, 1-0 EPC), the No. 1-ranked team in the Morning Call area, is scheduled to face Don Rohn's third-ranked Konkrete Kids (5-0, 2-0) at the Kid Dome. But, sadly, the much-anticipated head knocker might turn out to be, in effect, a default.

The K-Kids are coming off an uplifting team championship in the Christmas City Tournament, in which they narrowly edged defending champion Nazareth.

P'burg, on the other hand, earned its top billing with a thrilling 30-28 dual meet victory over those same Blue Eagles 12 days ago -- and followed it up by crowning three champions and placing six kids in the top four at the South Jersey Invitational Championship of Champions last week at Highlands Regional.

Alas, the sickness and injury bugaboo has hit the Stateliners broadside -- and there may be little resemblance between the P'burg team that shows up in Northampton tonight and the one that knocked off Nazareth.

As this was written (earlier in the week), 125-pounder Pat Coyle, 152-pounder Scott Horton, 171-pounder Jarrod Spencer, 189-pounder Joe Wargo (the hero of the victory over Nazareth) and heavyweight Brian Wildrick were all either hurt or sick.

Incredibly, Wildrick himself was filling in at the Championship of Champions because of the injury to Wargo and the fact that Len Moser (who had been alternating with Wargo at 189 and heavyweight) left the team.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, the Stateliners' entire coaching staff, including head coach Bob Jiorle (and his family), were down with the bug.

Assuming everyone shows up, there can be no doubt that the premiere individual matchup will be at 119 pounds, where P'burg junior Scott Frinzi will tangle with Kids' senior Chad Billy in a battle of unbeaten state placewinners. Frinzi (6-0) finished fourth in New Jersey last year, while Billy (9-0) wound up sixth in Pennsylvania. Billy also placed in states as a sophomore.

If the 'Liners show up intact, the match will be a doozy. But, if they show up with four or five starters out, it will be anticlimactic.